


Should We Be Worried

by SkadiLothbrok



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, OFC - Freeform, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 10:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13878867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkadiLothbrok/pseuds/SkadiLothbrok
Summary: As you walked into the school you felt the eyes turn on you.It had been before the summer that anybody had last seen you.A tragic car accident had left you in hospital for months and had left your parents 6 feet under.But you knew that you had to come back eventually and the start of the new term seemed as good a time as any.





	1. Chapter 1

As you walked into the school you felt the eyes turn on you.

It had been before the summer that anybody had last seen you.

A tragic car accident had left you in hospital for months and had left your parents 6 feet under.

But you knew that you had to come back eventually and the start of the new term seemed as good a time as any.

People's eyes went wide as you passed and the gossip was already starting.

No doubt it was relatively old news by now, especially with everything that had happened with the Blossoms and the Black hood.

Unsurprisingly though, your return meant that the gossip about you started once more.

"Poppy!" you heard a familiar voice behind you.

Taking a deep breath you put on a smile and turned around "Jug, hey".

You and Jughead were friends due to your common interest in the darker things but you just felt too exhausted to deal with people's pity.

He pulled you into a quick hug before stepping back and smiling "I'm glad your back".

"I wish I could say the same" you sighed before looking at his clothing "what the hell are you wearing".

"Oh yeah" he scoffed "all of us who moved from Southside High have to wear this crap".

"Since when were you at Southside high?" you frowned.

"It's a long story, and I suppose you have a lot of catching up to do".

"Yeah, I am a bit behind on what's been happening I guess" you relented.

"How are you anyway?" the conversation took a turn that you didn't want it to.

"I'm fine" you shrugged "will you fill me in on what I missed".

He took note of your conversation redirection and understood.

With a nod he walked with you towards the room he'd commandeered for the Serpents.

\---

Once Jughead had filled you in on everything that you had missed you felt exhausted.

"Geez, I'm gone for one minute and this place goes crazy" you joked.

"It sure did" Jug nodded just as the door opened and a girl and boy entered the room.

They haulted slightly when they noticed you.

"Hey guys, this is Poppy Summers" Jug introduced you to the pair without hesitation.

The girl came forwards and held out her hand for you "Toni Topaz".

You shook her hand shared a smile.

"That's Sweet Pea" she nodded in the boys direction "but he's not as socially skilled as me".

You both shared a laugh for a moment before your eyes met with Sweet Pea's.

He seemed to be looking straight into your head, as if trying to discover all of your darkest secrets, you had to look away feeling nervous all of a sudden.

The moment was short lived though as Betty, Kevin and a girl you didn't know came into the room.

"Poppy, it's so great to have you back" Betty rushed over and pulled you into a hug.

"Sorry about your parents" Kevin commented, making you freeze momentarily.

"Thanks" you mumbled whilst rubbing the back of your neck awkwardly.

"I hope you're fully recovered now" he continued, never one to beat around the bush.

"I'm doing fine" you assured him with a fake smile "who is this?" you turned your attention to the other girl.

"Veronica Lodge" she stepped forward and introduced herself with a smile "it's nice to meet you".

"You too" you continued to maintain a smile "anyways, I best be off to Weatherbee's office, I have to sort my schedule out" you stood up and made your way to the door.

"Come find us at lunch" Betty called after you with a smile.

You nodded and smiled once more before disappearing out of the room.

"Nice Kevin, real subtle" Jug shook his head.

"What, are we supposed to pretend nothing happened?" he replied.

"What happened?" Veronica asked.

Toni and Sweet Pea were listening too at this point.

Betty sighed before filling them in "she was in a bad car accident before last summer, her parents died and she was in the hospital for months so we haven't really seen her since then".

A tension filled the room after that.

\---

Lunch time came around without too much fuss, you put up with the 'I'm sorry for your loss' and the sympathy all morning and just wanted some time on your own.

Luckily you knew just where to go.

Slipping through a gap in the fence behind the school you followed the now overgrown track to the lone tree that sat in the field.

Smiling at your safe haven you sat against the tree and closed your eyes.

After eating your lunch, listening to your music and calming your nerves you stood and made your way back towards school.

As you slipped through the fence a voice made you jump.

"Sneaking away from school?"

Turning to the voice you spotted Sweet Pea from earlier "uh, what are you doing back here?"

He gestured to the cigarette in his hand and smirked "what's your excuse?"

"Needed to get away from everyone for a bit" you told him the truth.

He offered you the cigarette "no thanks, I don't smoke".

"Tired of all the sympathy?" he asked.

You frowned trying to see if he was being genuine or not "yeah".

"My mum died a few years back" he began to tell you "at school everybody kept treating me like I was made of glass or something" he looked at the ground.

"Does it ever get better?" you asked quietly.

"Not really, but you stop caring about other people's opinions" he looked up at you.

You both looked at each other for a moment without saying a word.

Eventually he spoke again "wanna skip the afternoon?" 

A small smile crossed your face "where did you have in mind?"

He smiled back and you followed him towards the parking lot.

\---

"Is that Poppy and Sweet Pea?" Betty noticed the two of you walking across the parking lot.

Jug turned and looked with a frown "I think it is actually".

"I didn't know they were friends?" Betty observed.

"I only just introduced them this morning" Jughead continued to watch as Sweet Pea handed you his helmet and you climbed on the back of his bike.

"Should we be worried?"

Jughead watched as you both pulled out of the parking lot before turning back to Betty "not yet at least".


	2. You're A Bad Influence

As you lay in bed that night you thought about your afternoon with Sweet Pea.

It was nice to have somebody treat you like a normal person instead of treading on eggshells around you.

You'd grabbed some food from Pop's before heading down to the Quarry.

Once there, you talked about various things together.

He told you about the Serpents and the tensions that were rising between the South and Northside.

You told him about your time in hospital and how you were currently living with a foster family until you turned 18 in a few months.

It had been a great way to finish a stressfull morning.

When he'd dropped you off back home he told you that he would see you tomorrow and looked as though he wanted to say something else but decided against it.

As he rode off you turned and headed into your temporary home.

The family you'd been placed with consisted of Helen and her 2 sons, Marcus who was 14 and Dylan who was 8.

You kept to yourself mostly and they allowed that, knowing what had happened to you.

The thought of going to school again tomorrow made your stomach churn but you calmed more when you thought about seeing Sweet Pea again.

You felt like you had known him a lot longer than since this morning.

He understood what you were going through too.

Thinking about everything, you fell into an uneasy sleep.

\---

"Morning Poppy" Jughead greeted you as soon as you left your classroom.

"Hey Jug" you greeted "were you waiting for me?" you frowned slightly.

He shrugged and fell into step beside you.

"So I saw you leave with Sweet Pea the other day" he got straight to the point.

"Yeah" you kept your eyes ahead "I wasn't feeling to great and he offered to take me home".

"Weird, Sweet Pea's not usually that nice" Jug joked.

You laughed along awkwardly, feeling like there was more he wanted to ask.

Moments later though the guy in question himself appeared around the corner.

"Hey Pea" Jughead called him over "Poppy and I were just heading to the common room, wanna join?"

You knew at that point that there was an ulterior motive and you squinted at Jug trying to figure out what it was.

"Uh, yeah sure" Sweet Pea agreed before smiling at you and walking on your other side into the common room.

Jug and Sweet Pea made their way over to the couch whilst you headed for the vending machine.

"Poppy, long time no see" Reggie appeared besides you and winked "but now that you're back why are you associating with the trash?"

You frowned at him and grabbed your drink from the dispenser "I'm not in the mood for your crap Reggie".

"Seriously Poppy" he stepped in front of you "did that car crash mess with your head or something?"

As what he said sunk in you felt anger rising in you.

Without thinking you threw your drink in his face.

"What the hell" he jumped back and glared at you.

He reached forwards and was about to grab your arm when somebody stopped him.

"What do you think you are doing snake?" Reggie snarled at Sweet Pea as he pulled his arm free of his grip.

"She doesn't want to talk to you" was all he said before grabbing your hand and pulling you away from the scene.

Without even realising it, tears had begun to fall down your face.

Sweet Pea pulled you through the corridors and into an empty classroom.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he studied your face.

You let out a laugh and quickly wiped away the stray tears "I'm fine" you nodded but could meet his eyes.

"Poppy" Sweet Pea made you look at him "nobody is expecting you to be fine".

A few more tears broke free and you looked down once more.

Not really thinking about it, Pea stepped forwards and pulled you into his chest.

You wrapped your arms around him as the tears continued to fall.

As you calmed down, you stepped back and wiped your face "sorry".

"You don't have to be" he smiled "I got your back okay".

You smiled back at him "thankyou Sweet Pea".

"Anytime" he replied.

\---

"So you and Poppy huh?" Jughead asked as he sat with Sweet Pea.

"What about us?" Sweet Pea asked defensively.

"Nothing" Jughead held his hands up at Pea's threatening glare "I just noticed you've been watching out for her".

"Would you rather I didn't?" Pea asked.

"No, it's just" Jug sighed "I mean it'd be nice if you and her were... friends, she needs somebody right now".

"Whatever Jones" Pea stood up and went to walk away.

"Just don't break her heart" Jug called after him with a grin.

As Pea left the room he thought more about what Jug was saying.

Sure he like you but that was because he understood what you were going through.

It wasn't anything romantic.

Yeah, you were good looking and great to be around, and even if your were his type it didn't mean that...

...wait...

Did he have feelings for Poppy?

But he'd only just met her yesterday, that would be crazy... right?

\---

When lunch came around you made your way to the same tree as yesterday.

Only this time there was somebody there when you arrived.

"Sweet Pea?" you asked as he turned to face you "what are you doing here?"

"I can leave if you want" Pea quickly spoke "but I thought you might like some company?"

You smiled at him "sure, that'd be nice".

It was weird having somebody else in your safe place at first but eventually you got comfortable and the conversation flowed easily.

As you showed Sweet Pea something on your phone you were close enough that he could smell your perfume and feel your shoulder pressed against his.

Next thing he knew he was leaning forward and placing his lips against yours.

When you didn't respond he pulled back quickly and began to apologise.

You cut him off though when you pulled him back closer and kissed him back.

Both of you knew that this was all happening really quickly, but there was just something that felt right about it.

When you seperated once more you were both smiling.

"We should head back before we're late" you grinned.

"Who cares about being late" Pea grinned before pulling you closer once more.

The sound of the school bell in the distance made you pull back again.

"You're a bad influence" you smirked as you stood up and pushed him playfully.

"You have no idea" he replied.


	3. Apparently Not

The weekend came around quickly to your relief.

Even with Sweet Pea by your side, being back at school was a nightmare.

Nobody knew about you and Pea yet since you both agreed that it would only lead to people interfeering.

You were still in bed, despite the fact that it was already 11.30, when your phone buzzed on the nightstand.

Opening the screen you saw that it was a message from Pea.

Pea <3: I hope you don't have plans today, I'm on my way over to take you out babe x

You: Only plans I care about involve you ;) see you soon xx

Jumping out of bed you rushed about to make yourself presentable.

Grabbing your ripped jeans and the first shirt you grabbed you threw them on before making your way into the bathroom to try and tame your hair.

As you finished getting ready you head the engine of a bike outside and headed downstairs with a smile.

"Are you heading out Poppy?" Helen asked from the kitchen.

"Yeah" you smiled at her "I won't be back late".

With that you headed outside to greet your man.

"Hey" you smiled as you rushed over to him and he pulled you into a hug.

"Hey to you too" he answered as he passed you his helmet.

"Where are we heading then?" you asked as you climbed on behind him.

"It's a surprise" he answered as you wrapped your arms around his waist.

\--

He pulled off onto a side road and followed a slightly overgrown trail.

Eventually you came to an opening besides Sweetwater River.

You grinned as you jumped off the bike and looked at the picnic blanket that was set up.

"Who knew you were such a romantic" you turned to Pea with a smile.

"Only for you" he winked before walking you over to the blanket "though I cheated a bit on the food prep".

As he opened the basket the smell of Pop's filled the air, making you laugh.

Once the food had been eaten you lay across the blanket besides each other looking up at the clouds.

"Thanks for this" you spoke up "you've made this week so much better".

"Anything for you" he relpied, making you turn to look at him.

He was already watching you when you did.

Closing the gap between you, you initiated the kiss.

It soon became more heated though and you found youself beneath him as he peppered kisses along your collarbone.

Both of you jumped though, when you heard what was obviously a scream in the distance.

You remained silent as you both waited to see if you would hear it again.

Nothing.

Pea stood up and held his finger to his lips at you.

With a nod you quietly stood up too.

He grabbed your hand in his as you both moved forwards to where the scream had come from.

Your pulse was going crazy at this point.

The snap of twigs from behind you had you both spinning around.

That was a mistake though, because as soon as you did something hit you round the back of the head and you can only remember falling as the darkness consumed you.

\--

"Have you managed to get hold of Pea yet?" Toni asked as she sat in the booth at Pop's with Betty, Jug and Veronica.

"Nothing" Jug shook his head "I can't get Poppy either though" he wiggled his eyebrows at the group.

Veronica spoke up at this point "so we all know that they are dating right, it's obvious".

"Something still doesn't feel right though" Toni interjected "Pea always has his phone on him in case something happens and we need him".

The group fell silent for a moment at this.

"Maybe the battery died?" Veronica suggested.

"And Poppy's too?" Betty spoke up "I think Toni's right, something's wrong".

They were distracted by the phone at the counter ringing for a moment.

As the continued to discuss the conversation Pop came over looking as if he had seen a ghost.

"Pop, what's wrong?" Jug asked immediately.

"That phone call...it was the Black hood" he began "said he has Poppy and the Serpent, and that if you don't find them soon it will be too late".

"What!" Betty was stood up and ready to leave immediately "did he give a clue or anything?"

Pop shook his head sadly.

"Does anybody know where they would have been?" Veronica asked.

"The boy came in and picked up food for 2 from me this morning" Pop spoke up "didn't say where he was going though".

"We have another mystery to solve then don't we" Betty said as she was leaving the booth.

\--

As you opened your eyes you felt a throbbing pain in your head.

Looking around you found that you were in some place dark and could barely see.

Trying to move, you found that your hands were tied behind your back and your legs were tied to the legs of the chair.

Struggling with all your strength you soon found there was no getting the restraints loose.

"Poppy" a familiar voice spoke up.

"Pea" you replied desperately "what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know" he replied "but I won't let anything happen to you Poppy, do you hear me?"

"I hear you" you replied as your head tried to wrap around the situation.

Before either of you could speak again, you heard somebody was approaching and noticed light coming from a torch.

You were granted a glimpse at Pea by the light that it gave off.

He was tied to a chair opposite you and had blood running down the side of his face.

Turning your attention back to the person with the torch you waited for him to say something.

Your heart jumped into your throat when you noticed the Black hood they wore over their head.

But he simply stood there for a moment before leaning down and moving some of the debris on the floor.

Your eyes shot wide open at what he uncovered.

A body lay on the ground dead with parts of his flesh already eroded away.

You surpressed the scream that wanted to be released, knowing that was the reaction this guy wanted.

Instead you simply turned your attention to Sweet Pea.

"What the hell do you want?!" he shouted at the Black Hood.

No answer came as the killer turned and walked back away from you both.

When the footsteps were gone you allowed the tears to fall down your face.

"Poppy, listen to me, we're going to get out of this" Pea tried to comfort you.

You forced the tears to stop but your voice still quivered when you spoke "I thought they had caught the Black Hood?"

"Apparently not" Pea replied.


	4. I Think I Love You

After tracking Poppy and Sweet Pea's phones the group had ended up beside Sweetwater river.

Pea's Harley stood at the start of the clearing and a blanket lay in the centre.

"They were definitely here then" Toni spoke up as they looked around.

"Guys" Jug called them over to a spot near the edge of the clearing.

They all rushed over to see what he had found.

A plank of wood lay on the ground with what appeared to be blood stains.

"Oh God" Veronica let out as she moved behind Archie.

"What's that?" Toni pointed out something nailed to a tree.

Walking over, Betty felt her heart stop.

"Looks like a piece of carpet" Archie pointed out with a frown "what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Jug noticed the look on Betty's face and pulled her aside for a moment.

"That's part of the rug that we used to wr-" she cut herself off.

"You mean the guy?" Jug confirmed to which Betty nodded.

"You know something" Toni interrupted them.

Betty looked at her with wide eyes before rubbing her hands down her face and declaring "I think I know where they are".

\--

You didn't know how long you had been stuck here by now.

The smell coming from the body had caused you to throw up twice and you were shivering from the cold.

You continued to hear Pea struggling to get loose.

"This is bullshit" you cursed as you began to pull against your own restraints once more "this whole thing is bullshit, we haven't done anything, whoever this guy is doesn't even know us".

"I don't think it's about us Poppy" Pea replied with a sigh "I think it has more to do with that body and whoever put him here".

"Makes sense" you nodded "but that still doesn't explain why the hell we're the ones tied up".

"I'm sorry Poppy".

"What for Pea?" you asked as you continued to struggle.

"Bringing you out here, if I hadn't brought you out here this wouldn't have-"

"Pea" you cut him off "you were being romantic not stupid" you forced a laugh.

"But I should have protected you" he argued.

"We can't always protect the people we care about, sometimes bad stuff just happens" you sighed "the crash that killed my parents... they were only out there because they were picking me up after I'd walked out on an argument we were having".

Sweet Pea listened as you spoke.

"If I hadn't walked out then they wouldn't have been in the car".

"You can't blame yourself for that" Pea offered.

"And you can't blame yourself for this" you countered.

He remained silent for a few seconds "I think I love you Poppy Summers".

You smiled at his words despite the situation "I love you too Pea".

\--

Veronica and Archie had gone to fetch Sherrif Keller as Toni, Jug and Betty made their way to the drain pipe.

"What if he's here?" Toni asked.

"At least there's 3 of us?" Jug offered up.

"Right" Toni scoffed "us 3 against a crazy gun wielding killer".

They all came to a stop as they heard footsteps heading in their direction.

All of them held their breaths waiting to see if it was the Black Hood.

"What the hell do you think you are doing here?" FP came into view.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Jug asked.

"I called him" Toni answered "figured we could use the back up".

FP shared a look with Jug that said we'll talk about this later before shaking his head and leading the group to the drain pipe.

When they reached the entrance they were all hit by the smell coming from it.

"What is that?" Toni asked as she covered her nose.

"Sweet Pea. Poppy" Jug called into the darkness.

They weren't sure by they thought they heard a muffled response.

FP pulled out a torch and rushed in whilst the others stayed behind him.

"Oh my god" Toni gasped as she saw the rotting body on the floor between where Poppy and Pea were tied up.

Betty rushed to free Poppy whilst FP headed for Pea.

They were both barely conscious at this point, the smell of the body, the hits to the head and the cold all acumilating into one.

Toni rushed forwards to help Betty carry Poppy out as Jug and FP grabbed Sweet Pea.

\--

You coughed as you opened your eyes once more after drifting out of it again.

That's when you heard the voices of people and the light temporarily blinded you.

"Poppy, hey, it's us" you felt an arm on your shoulder and instinctively pulled back.

Once your vision cleared you could make more sense of things.

You were sat beneath some trees with a blanket wrapped around you as everyone watched you with a worried look.

"Pea" you managed to mumble.

"He's right here" Toni drew your attention to the left where she was keeping Sweet Pea sat up against a tree whilst he was still out of it.

Moving to stand you found yourself stumbling slightly until Betty caught you.

"Take it easy Poppy" she told you.

Reluctantly you sat back down and held your head "the Black Hood" you mumbled.

"We know" Jug spoke up "Sheriff Keller is on the way".

"There's a dead guy in there" you suddenly remembered in a panic.

At that moment, Pea began to stir to your left.

He woke with a start and immediately went for the closest peron to him, which was Toni.

"Woah there big guy" FP jumped in before he could hurt anyone "calm down".

He allowed FP to push him back against the tree as his brain caught up with the situation.

"Poppy" his eyes landed on yours as he pulled himself up and stumbled over.

You wasted no time in wrapping your arms around him and letting him pull you into his chest.

Sirens could be heard getting closer but all that mattered to you in that moment was holding onto Pea and not letting go.


End file.
